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Should You Invest in the VanEck Oil Services ETF (OIH)?

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The VanEck Oil Services ETF (OIH - Free Report) was launched on 12/20/2011, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Energy - Equipment and services segment of the equity market.

An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.

Investor-friendly, sector ETFs provide many options to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Energy - Equipment and services is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 14, placing it in bottom 13%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by Van Eck. It has amassed assets over $1.63 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Energy - Equipment and services segment of the equity market. OIH seeks to match the performance of the MVIS U.S. Listed Oil Services 25 Index before fees and expenses.

The MVIS U.S. Listed Oil Services 25 Index tracks the overall performance of U.S.-listed companies involved in oil services to the upstream oil sector, which include oil equipment, oil services, or oil drilling.

Costs

When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.35%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.49%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer a diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Energy sector--about 93.70% of the portfolio.

Looking at individual holdings, Schlumberger Nv (SLB - Free Report) accounts for about 19.85% of total assets, followed by Baker Hughes Co (BKR - Free Report) and Halliburton Co (HAL - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 73.15% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has lost about -8.22% so far this year and is down about -2.14% in the last one year (as of 12/09/2024). In that past 52-week period, it has traded between $268.61 and $349.35.

The ETF has a beta of 1.75 and standard deviation of 36.68% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 27 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.

Alternatives

VanEck Oil Services ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, OIH is a sufficient option for those seeking exposure to the Energy ETFs area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

IShares U.S. Oil Equipment & Services ETF (IEZ - Free Report) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Select Oil Equipment & Services Index and the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Equipment & Services ETF (XES - Free Report) tracks S&P Oil & Gas Equipment & Services Select Industry Index. IShares U.S. Oil Equipment & Services ETF has $154.34 million in assets, SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Equipment & Services ETF has $213.41 million. IEZ has an expense ratio of 0.40% and XES charges 0.35%.

Bottom Line

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.

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